• Filed a grievance with her union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 951, in an attempt to get her job back. The union concluded that her firing did not violate the union’s contract with Meijer, according to a union document provided by Meijer.

• Unsuccessfully appealed the union's decision not go into arbitration over her case with the National Labor Relations Board, documents show.

• Successfully challenged the denial of her unemployment benefits. The state Unemployment Insurance Agency found she had not received sufficient training to distinguish pharmacy coupons from ads, documents show.

• Filed an age discrimination lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which contracts with the Michigan Civil Rights Commission to review cases. That investigation concluded Meijer had fired employees of various ages and opted not to file a complaint.

• Contacted nearly a dozen attorneys, including Geoffrey Fieger, who declined her case. Eventually, she hired Richard A. Meier, a labor attorney in Farmington Hills who had experience representing former Meijer employees.

• Filed suit in Macomb County Circuit Court in June 2012, claiming Meijer targeted her because she was a veteran cashier near the top of the pay scale.

• Reached a settlement with Meijer for $15,000. Meijer denied any wrongdoing. Gizowski asked for $400,000 in her complaint.

• Decided not to go to trial with her lawsuit, she said, because that would have made her accountable for Meijer's legal fees under state law if a jury did not award her at least 10 percent more than the $15,000 mediator recommended settlement, according to her lawyer and another legal expert.